Manila not selling Rizal Memorial Complex

The city government of Manila would like to clarify certain misconceptions that may have been purveyed in Recah Trinidad’s column “Hooray! Not all that glitters is Erap gold” (Sports, 4/21/17).

A distinguished sportswriter, Trinidad’s column involves the Rizal Memorial Complex and its supposed “sale” to a powerful conglomerate. He credits the National Historical Commission for its recent declaration of the site as an “important cultural property,” suggesting that this somehow thwarted the mayor’s plans.

At the outset, we wish to make it plain and categorical: The city government, under the administration of Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, has no intention to sell or dispose of the Rizal Memorial Complex to any third party, precisely in recognition of its esteemed status as a treasured property of Manila. It is among the prized jewels in the patrimony of the premier city. This visionary policy is steadfastly being pursued.

The sad and undeniable reality, however, is that the Rizal Sports Stadium has fallen into dreadful decay and dilapidation and, worse, no public agency occupying and using the complex has put forward a strategic, viable plan to rehabilitate the venue. This has made it all the more urgent for Mayor Estrada to enlist the help of Enrique Razon—through a joint venture—to revitalize the old glory that was the Rizal Memorial Complex.

Rest assured that any modernization that would be made to restore the complex shall mainly involve adaptive reuse. This is permitted under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 on the use of buildings and other sites of value for purposes other than those originally intended, in order to conserve the structures, its engineering integrity and authenticity of design.
ERICSON A. ALCOVENDAZ, city administrator, City of Manila